WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S Fire

For former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, the last three years have had their ups and downs. Now that he and the Phoenix Suns are back on the way up, DA wants everyone to know that's where they're planning to stay.

- DEYSCHA SMITH

DEANDRE AYTON once said something that might have slipped past all of us. It was a statement, something that could be confused as a prophecy, or, if that’s too dramatic, something a typical then 19-year-old would say, especially when you’re the best college player in the country and moments away from being selected as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The NBA ain’t ever seen a player like me.

Three years later, Ayton still means it. It wasn’t for clout or to make his SLAM 216 cover story sound good. He knew, even back then, that the League had never seen a player like him. When asked about it again during our interview in April, he makes it clear to everyone on the Zoom call that today he means it even more.

“I was serious. And I’m deadass. I’m serious, to the bone,” Ayton says. “I’m something the League has never seen: a 5 that can guard 1-5. A player that can anchor a defense, that can play like this every night.”

His voice is stern and unwavering, the same way someone speaks when they’re right and they know it. “I love it,” he continues. “That’s the day and era that we’re in, where young guys like the Luka Doncics and the Trae Youngs are carrying teams, literally. But we love it. It’s who we are. It’s the life we chose. Simple as that.”